Becoming A Mentor
by Hydra348
Summary: Jonathan, the son of Giovanni, is invited by Professor Rowan to accompany a new trainer on his journey in Sinnoh. Little does Jon know, that he will not only be dealing with his father's gang, but also a newer threat.
1. Chapter 1: The Injured Togepi

Swarms of Starly and Ekans sped through the forest as Persian chased them towards the trap, a giant cage near Lake Verity. It was a place where the calm, clear waters were rarely disturbed. Tonight, however, was an exception. The green grass glimmered with evening dew that was soon thrown into the air by the fleeing creatures.

I couldn't wait for the whole operation to be over. I sighed at the fact that I was still serving my father, Giovanni. I didn't understand why he wouldn't give up the ghost. Team Rocket had failed in Kanto, Johto, and now he was putting them in the Sinnoh region? Worst of all, he made me help him! I should have been training to challenge the pokemon league and the grand festival, not be helping his grunts and an officer with a mass pokemon capture.

Persian brushed up against my leg, snapping me out of my thoughts while showing off it's limber, agile body, covered with a coat of tan fur. The red gem on its forehead glowed like a red star in the moonlight, providing for an eerie and mystic sight. had been my first pokemon. I couldn't imagine bearing any of this without her. Within seconds of Persian brushing against me, the sounds of the frightened pokemon returned to my ears, as did the yelling of grunts.

"Hey boss!" One of the grunts yelled to the officer while holding a struggling Togepi. "What do you want us to do with this?" Togepi was a small pokemon whose head formed a sort of crown. Its shell was quite egg-like, and red and blue triangles littered the white surface.

"Is it healthy?" Asked the officer.

"Uh... No. It has a crack in its shell." The Togepi squirmed as the Grunt examined it. It squealed in pain.

"Throw it in the lake then." He said, reminding me of my first pokemon, Persian, who they were also about to throw in the lake when they found her injured leg. My mind flashed back:

"_What would you like to do with this Persian?" Asked a young Team Rocket officer while standing on the bank of a lake. It was four years ago. I had been accompanying my father on a pokemon capture, so I could learn the business. It was a night just like tonight, in an environment that was extremely similar._

_My father glared at the young Rocket as if he was already supposed to know what the answer was. 'If it's healthy, take it. If it's not, throw it into the lake," he snarled._

"_No!" I broke in, with my voice a few octaves higher than it is now. "Please, I'll take it. I'll do anything!" I really was willing to do anything to keep the Persian out of the cold, unforgiving waters of the lake. She couldn't swim, especially not with that bruised leg._

"_Fine then! Take it! Maybe it'll prove useful when you're working for Team Rocket!" My father angrily agreed, just wanting to get me to stop nagging him. Ever since then, Persian and I were the ultimate team, though not always for the right reasons. _

My flashback finally ended. The grunt was about to launch the Togepi when I broke into the conversation, "Don't throw it in." The grunt turned around, looking at me and the officer , confused about who to obey, the great leader's son, or his commanding officer.

The Officer glared at me with dark green eyes and a face that looked naturally angry, and said, "I'm the one in charge here! Not you!"

"Officer Marley, is that a challenge?" I replied, having every intention to battle him over this affair.

"You know what, Jonathan?! It is!" He screamed as he pulled out a pokeball. "Go, Seviper!"

"Seviper," hissed the pokemon as it raised its long, black, spotted body form the ground, opening its gaping jaws.

"Alright Persian, you're up for this one." Persian leaped in between us.

"Poison Fang!" Officer Marley demanded. The colorful pokemon lunged with immense speed and power.

"Persian, counter with Shadow Ball!" The powerful sphere of energy gathered in Persian's mouth before it hit seviper head on and collided with its long fangs drenched in poison, causing purple smoke to cover the battlefield. Seviper looked around frantically in an effort to guess where Persian was. "Persian, Shockwave!" Out the smoke, Persian hit Seviper with a blue wave of electricity, knocking it to the ground. The pokemon was out for the count.

"Return," Sighed Marley as he returned the fainted pokemon. A red beam of light shot from Marley's pokeball, enveloping the predatory creature and absorbing it. He backed out of my way and gestured to the grunt holding the Togepi.

"I'll take that, if you don't mind," I said as I moved toward the grunt. The Rocket handed the small pokemon over to me. "I'll be leaving now." I climbed into the chopper. Marley glared at me as I looked back.

"Where to?" Asked the pilot.

"Home," I replied as I pulled out the the first aid kit and began to bandage the Togepi's shell. Luckily, the crack wasn't too bad and looked like it should heal up in a few weeks. Looking down on the ground, I saw Marley yelling at the grunt.

Once I got home, I walked through the large double doors with various Kanto pokemon carved on them, such as Rapidash, Tauros, and Arbok. Inside, the golden yellow walls reflected light from the crystal chandeliers that had hung from the high ceiling for only a few years. I walked up the marble steps which were clothed by a scarlet red rug and sandwiched by two smooth, hand-carved railings in the form of giant Dragonairs. To me, this wasn't a home, it was a mansion.

I went straight to my room and set the Togepi on my bed. My room was fairly simple compared to the rest of the house. It consisted of a medium size with an average, wooden bed in one corner and a glass desk in the other. On the desk was a desktop computer, which I used to secretly stay in touch with certain people, one of them being my grandfather. The sound of footsteps down the hall passed through my ears. I immediately shut my door; I did not want to run into my father with another injured pokemon.

"I already said that I didn't care!" Screamed my father.

"But Giovanni!" Said the other voice. "That pokemon could destroy the whole Sinnoh region!"

I wanted to keep listening but they walked out of earshot. My thoughts swirled through my mind, _what pokemon are they talking about?_

"Togepi!" The small pokemon cried out in pain. The bandages were now red, dark red. I started to worry immensely.

As I my breathing rapidly sped up, I heard "Beep! Beep!" My phone had received a text message. The name, "Prof. Rowan," flashed across the screen. _That's it, _I thought shortly before dashing out of the room,without even reading the message. Professor Rowan could help me with Togepi, I just knew it.

Running down the stairs with Togepi in my arms and Persian by my side was invigorating. If my father had seen me, he probably would have given me a very _expressive _lecture, but since he wasn't around, I didn't was the last thing on my mind at that point. I jumped into one of the sleek, black Team Rocket cars and sped off, Togepi and Persian in the front passenger side.

My panic caused me to drive well over the speed limit. Nothing could be seen on either side of the road besides trees. Once there, the town seemed eerily empty; probably due to the fact that it was night time. I pulled up to the lab. Thankfully the lights inside were on.

"Knock knock!" The door felt firm, judging by the way it gave slight pain to my knuckles.

The door opened and the familiar figure of professor Rowan was revealed behind it. He was an elderly man with thick white hair and a beard to match. He had the marks of time across his face, with the deep lines resembling the crevices in a mountain. "What are you doing out this late. I didn't expect you til tomorrow. Didn't you read the messa-".

I cut him off then and there. "I need help, this Togepi is injured and I don't know what to do."

Professor Rowan's face suddenly turned serious as he grabbed the small pokemon and took it inside. He motioned for Persian and I to follow. He quickly grabbed medicine out of the corner cabinet and set to work. Sitting on the couch in the spacious laboratory helped to calm my nerves. Persian crawled up with me and pushed her head under my arm. My phone beeped, saying that it had a message. "Dad," read the screen. The full message said, "Be home by 11. There is something I need to talk to you about." "Something to look forward to..." I sighed sarcastically, looking around the room and admiring the high tech equipment, such as glass incubators containing starter pokemon, a few pokedexes strewn about a large desk, and so on...

"She's all done!" said Professor Rowan holding a tightly bandaged but relieved Togepi. "Turns out, there really was no reason to worry. It wasn't seriously infected. So, How has everything been with your father?"

"Okay. We've managed to avoid each other for a few days so we haven't fought at all in that time. I'm really tired of doing this. I'm sick of the heists and the raids. I don't want to do it anymore. Lately I've been training a lot for the league and the grand festival, but he thinks that I'm just being lazy, so he has been giving me all of these jobs for the gang." At that time, my father and I had been fairly evasive of each other. He gave me my missions, and I did them with disgust. I asked his permission for things, and he said yes usually just to get me out of his hair. We hadn't had a full conversation since the anniversary of my mother's death. What few words we did exchange usually resulted in my father indirectly insulting me and me having to lie down and take it.

"Look, if you need to get away from your father awhile, while still getting to brush up on your pokemon skills for the pokemon league and the grand festival, there is something I have for you: a journey." Prof. Rowan jolted me back into reality.

My eyes grew wide with excitement as I processed what he had said."Really? That sounds awesome. When?"

"Tomorrow. I know someone who is just starting their first pokemon journey. His parents made him wait so he is sixteen like you. However they still would like someone to go with him. You could be that person."

"That sounds great!" I said, somewhat reigning in my excitement, for the idea of traveling with someone I had never met made me slightly uneasy.

"Glad you like the idea. Be here at 11 tomorrow." He completely ignored my sudden drop in enthusiasm.

"All right! I'm sorry, I have to go. My dad wants to talk to me about something. By the way, could you hold on to Togepi for tonight? My dad will freak out if I bring home another injured pokemon like the first time."

"Don't worry about it. Have a safe drive home!"

"Thanks!" I left for my dad's mansion. On my way home, I cursed numerous times about the upcoming conversation. Persian seemed to sense this, as she purred reassuringly. Once at the house, I walked into my dad's office, Persian at my heels.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, looking at his smug face, his dark eyes full of horrible intentions.

"Marley told me about what happened," he replied. He turned his back on me so he could stare through the giant window behind his large, wooden desk, like a portal to the midnight sky. I waited for the ball to drop. I was in trouble. _His_ Persian sat on his desk, eyeing mine suspiciously. My Persian just stared back as if challenging it. "I just wanted to say, that I am not angry with you."

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He had it coming. I distinctly told him that if you had any oppositions about something, that he was not to protest. Marley will not be punished for attempting to kill the pokemon, but for his disobedience. I do not agree with your decision about the pokemon, but I accept the fact that you are sensitive to these matters." Those last words were said with twinge of disappointment, making my insides burn. _Mom always had a heart for this sort of thing... and now you're going to tell me how I shouldn't have done it!_

"Professor Rowan has offered me an opportunity to travel with someone to help them on their pokemon journey, may I go?" I was rather blank in expression since I was trying to keep from blowing up at him.

"Very well. Do as you please. Perhaps that side of the population will accept your useless compassion with a bit more... _welcome_." He made a slight grin.

That just made my anger boil even more, and he knew it."Thank you," I said, giving a slight bow. My Father didn't like to outright punish me like most parents, he liked to play mind games which really got to me. _One day I swear..._

I ran to my room to pack my things: toothbrush, pokeballs, medicine, clothes, cell phone, sleeping bag, notebook, pens, and rope, telling off my father within the depths of my imagination. Lastly I needed to make sure I had all my pokemon. I checked them one by one: Persian, Jolteon, Dewgong, Sawsbuck, Ninetales, and Kingdra.

End of chapter one


	2. Chapter 2: Starting A Journey

The next morning, I woke up pondering the conversation I had overheard the previous night. _What pokemon could they have been talking about? _I quickly got up, seeing that the clock read 9:30 and it was an hour long drive to Prof. Rowan's laboratory. I tapped Persian and she awoke with a jolt. She always slept at the bottom of my bed. I quickly showered, got dressed, and started down the hallway, looking at pictures on the walls. I came to one of the more recent ones where my father and I were standing side by side, wearing very fake smiles. I then noticed how different we looked. He had dark black eyes, whereas mine were bright blue. He had a very slim but muscular build, while I was more stocky. We did have two things in common though, we were both tall and had the same hair color: brown. After spending five minutes on these wayward thoughts, I realized the time and quickly made my way outside.

I had one of the butlers drive me to Sandgem town seeing as I couldn't drive the car back. Persian and I got out of the car and knocked on the door of the lab. "Ah yes, Jonathan! Right on time. Sorry, the family is a little late. Oh! By the way, the son's name is Kyle."

Persian and I sat on the couch as professor Rowan handed me the Togepi. "Oh no! I forgot that I have six Pokemon," I said, worried about letting them go.

"Don't worry about it. The rule is that you can have as many Pokemon as you can carry but you can only use six or less in a battle." "Or at least, that's what the rule is now. It was reformed a few years ago by the league."

"Thank God!"

"Knock Knock!"

"They're here!" Shouted professor Rowan. He opened the door and greeted the family as they stepped in. The father was tall and slightly overweight, with sharp eyes that glared at me, questioning my presence at the lab. His dark hair seemed to accentuate his force of intimidation. The mom was average height and slim, and she had a worried expression on her face, as if she was worried about letting her son go, but her blonde hair and soft features made her look nicer than her husband. The son resembled the father more than anything else, minus the weight and intimidating eyes, for those of the child looked quite timid in retrospect. The parents were pretty quiet most of time while Professor Rowan explained to Kyle how to manage battles, contests, and overall pokemon care. Finally, he called me over. "Now, I know you wanted someone to travel with your son, so I brought a friend of mine to help out with that." Professor Rowan gestured to me. "He has all of his badges and 4 contest ribbons. He is one of the strongest trainers I have met so far." I smiled, trying to hide the redness in my face. The parents seemed impressed, but they did not smile back, though the father lessened his glaring. The child seemed in shock. "Now, Kyle, which Pokemon would you like? We have many for you to choose from."

"I think I'll pick..." Kyle trailed off for a moment."Cyndaquil," he finally said after thinking seriously for a few minutes. I saw a glimmer of determination in his eye as he made his choice. Cyndaquil was a very small blue and badge pokemon that shot fire from the four badge spots on its back.

"Very good choice. A strong one too. Raise it well," said Prof. Rowan. "Now here are your pokeballs and pokedex."

"Whoa, you got a Pokemon too? That's awesome, Kyle!" Some kid had barged through the door and interrupted Kyle before he could thank the professor.

"Ben? What are you doing here?"Asked Kyle, shocked but pleased that Ben had arrived.

"I got a Pokemon too and I'm dying to battle! Will you be my first challenger? I was hoping you would be here around this time."

"Um... Sure," He replied.

"Take it outside if you two are going to battle, though your Pokemon are small right now they can still ruin a room." At first, they both looked as if they were about to question my authority(Ben especially), but one steely gaze from Prof. Rowan and they both obeyed. The Parents of Kyle looked somewhat surprised at what I said; most likely because it was the first thing that had exited my mouth since they had arrived.

Once outside, the battle was on. Both trainers had their pokemon out, ready for battle. Ben had sent out his Chimchar. The small creature had a bobtail of a single ember which blazed with a confidence like that of it's trainer.

"Chimchar, Scratch!" Ben commanded as the small pokemon dashed for it's opponent, claws ready.

"Cyndaquil, dodge it!" Shouted Kyle. Chimchar's claws barely missed Cyndaquil as it dashed out of the way, leaving small embers in the air wherever it went. "Now, keep dodging his attacks and using scratch!" The battle went quickly, Cyndaquil had more agility than Chimchar and Ben was too aggressive as a trainer. He made decisions out of frustration. His shoulders sagged out of disappointment at his loss. He left without saying a word. Kyle didn't notice for he was too busy being congratulated by his parents. I kind of felt bad for Ben, but at the same time, I was pleased at the fact that he had lost. I found his rashness highly repulsive. I found the same undesirable trait in Kyle after he had won. All of the sudden, he seemed extremely confident, from the very way he walked to the very way he spoke to his parents as they said goodbyes.

"Goodbye, son," The parents said in unison as they stood by their dark, green sedan. The mother spread her arms out to hug Kyle, but he simply pushed her away.

"Goodbye," he replied as his parents got into their car.

"Jonathan, I have something for you," said Prof. Rowan.

"Yes professor?" I replied.

"I would like you to take a pokedex with you. Knowing you, you'll probably meet loads of rare pokemon." He was of course talking about my team. None of them were traditionally found in the Sinnoh region.

"Thank you so much," I replied as I received the device from the professor. This is why I liked Prof. Rowan. He treated everyone with respect. He also felt like a father to me ever since I had first met him. He was once tricked by my father into being one of his researchers for a scheme in Johto. They wanted him to find a way to harness the legendary Lugia's power. He would let me come into the lab and see all of the high tech technology while he worked.. He finally realized what was going on though and left, but not without giving me his number to stay in touch. I said goodbye as he retreated into his laboratory.

"All right," I said to Kyle, trying to start a conversation. It would be a little awkward for awhile since we had only met that morning. "We can start at Oreburgh Gym if you like, where we can train at the mines, or we can go West to Canalave and challenge the Gym there, where we can see Iron Island. There's also Eterna which is right next to the Haunted Manor.. Those are just the ones that are close by and not too difficult to get to."

"Let's go to Canalave." He said as he pulled on his backpack which had been lying on the ground just moments before.

"Okay, but first, let's go to the pokemon center to heal your pokemon and then we can go." We said goodbye to professor Rowan and he wished us luck as we headed for the center.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" Nurse Joy asked from behind the counter.

"Could you heal my pokemon please?" Asked Kyle, handing her Cyndaquil's pokeball.

"Of course!" She took the pokeball and placed it on the machine. "It will be a few minutes. While you wait, would you like to consider donating to our program to help abused pokemon?" She handed both of us a flyer. "We also have an adoption program if you like.

"I'm sorry, but I am not able to adopt right now. I will, however, make a small donation," I said as I dropped a few pokebucks into the jar, struggling to retrieve the money from my wallet while holding Togepi.

"I'll do the same." Kyle dropped a few pokebucks into the jar as well.

"All right, your pokemon is done healing. Have a nice day!" Nurse Joy handed the pokeball back to Kyle. We walked outside and started for Jubilife city.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Foe

We were both quiet as we walked, since we had just met that morning. As I thought about it,the idea of traveling with a person right after meeting them that morning seemed not as great an idea than I thought previously. "So..." I said, breaking the silence. "Any pokemon you have your sights set on?"

"Not really," he answered. "I think I'll just know when the right pokemon comes."

"That's sort of what I did. it's how I got this Togepi. The whole thing was quite spontaneous." I smiled. Only I knew what had happened. "Speaking of Togepi, I need to battle you and Cyndaquil sometime. I'm hoping to train it for the pokemon league and grand festival. We would need to wait for it to heal first though."

"Well, I do need battle practice, so how about I battle you and Persian, or maybe one of your other pokemon?" He asked. I could tell, he was hooked on battling now that he had had his first one.

"That wouldn't be a good idea at this point," I said as I glanced at Persian, who walked by my side.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, I have four years of battle experience under my belt. You have thirty minutes. I don't mean to sound arrogant but it would be a very quick battle."

"Oh, well, you're probably right." He looked slightly downtrodden. Kyle suddenly looked up and pointed in the distance. "Who is that?"

I looked up to where he was pointing and I saw a boy a few years older than me running frantically down the hill towards me, his dark hair bouncing as he ran. I soon realized that he couldn't stop. Stepping out of the way, I was able to keep Togepi safe from any further injury. The stranger tripped as he went by me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You could have hurt my Togepi!"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to meet you. You're Jonathan right?" Said the stranger. "I'm Matt." He had a slight bruise on his forehead from the fall. His pasty skin looked like it was burned by the sun, while his dark hair looked damp with sweat. That was probably because he was wearing a full business suit in 80 degree weather. He pushed up a pair of big black glasses on his face, only to have them fall to the end of his pointed nose again. His light green eyes seemed to be magnified by them.

"Yes..." I replied cautiously. "How do you know?" I was still calming down from the sudden rush of adrenaline.

"You're a pretty popular trainer. I was hoping you would like to meet me for coffee in Jubilife. I am a part of an organization that has taken a very special interest in you."

"Um…" I clearly had no idea how to respond. After a few seconds, I finally got my mind straight. "I am wondering how you knew I was here," I said blankly. _Have they been tracking me? _I thought.

"I didn't. I saw your picture in the news. I was walking to Jubilife to look for you when I spotted you down the road."

"Wait, _I_ was in the news?

"Yep, you were. They were reporting your win at the Snowpoint City pokemon contest and they ended up bringing up your success as both a coordinator _and_ a trainer as well."

I heaved a sigh of relief. After all of the illegal things I had taken part, in I was fairly concerned about being in the spotlight. "That's… wonderful," I responded with slight unease. "By the way, what organization is this?"

"That will all be explained over coffee."

"Sure, I'll bite," I said, suddenly feeling curious.

"Great! How does 3:30 tomorrow at the Meteor Cafe sound?"

"Sounds good. See you then." I watched as he walked away. My thoughts on the matter were mixed: on one hand, I was really curious to find out what was going on, but on the other, I was about to go to coffee with someone I had just met, and who knows what his organization wanted me for? It could have been some scam, or a kidnapping for ransom money. _If they think my father will give two pokebucks for me they don't know how wrong they are..._

Kyle and I continued walking in silence.

"I honestly don't see how I'm going to do this. My parents want me to be pokemon champion but I've no idea how." This time it was him who broke the silence. His voice shook.

"You'll be fine. It's how everyone feels when their parents tell them to do something that they've never really thought about before. I can tell you don't really want to become champion, but you should at least try. I can help you if you give it your best shot, but I can't make you any promises." I did my best to reassure him, but I wasn't used to this sort of thing. I didn't have a lot of friends due to my father's reputation, so I wasn't the best companion to have around when these kinds of things happened.

"You'd do that?"

"That is what I'm here to do."

"Okay then, what's the first step?"

"You need to catch some pokemon, because having just one isn't going to get you very far."

"Oh, okay." All of the sudden, we heard a rustling in the bushes"What's that?" He pointed to the rustling. (Evidently, he was easily distracted. A Ralts stepped out and locked eyes with Kyle. It was a small, white, green and red pokemon that seemed to have no eyes. It's white body looked fluid like cloth. The pokemon then dashed into the forest. Kyle ran after it. _Crap, I have to go with him, _I thought.

"Come on Persian, let's go," I said. Persian and I (while holding Togepi) ran into the forest after Kyle, getting scraped by tree branches as we went. Rowan's explanation and my conversation with Matt had taken too long, and the sun was starting to set. _We need to hurry up and get to Jubilife, _I thought. I finally came to a clearing where Kyle was. He was battling the Ralts with Cyndaquil.

"Use Ember again!" Kyle ordered as Cyndaquil released another small flame from it's quills. Kyle then threw a pokeball at the fatigued Ralts, hoping for capture. Once Ralts had been beamed into the pokeball, the red and white sphere shook once... twice... and then locked with a distinct clicking noise. "Yes!" Kyle shouted with joy as he held the pokeball in his hand.

"Good job," I congratulated. "Now we need to get to Jubilife soon. It's getting dark." We walked out of the forest. The sun was setting over the mountains, creating a variety of colors. We then turned and followed the trail to Jubilife city. Once we got there it was already night, but the city lights kept everything illuminated. We headed straight for a pokemon center to heal our pokemon and get a room. We were in luck. Nurse Joy handed us the key to the last room available. It had only two beds and a small table. The bedsheets were pale blue and almost blended into the white walls. I set Togepi on a pillow so she would be comfortable. I quickly got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Persian always slept at the foot of my bed, so that's where I found her. As soon as I laid down, I was out.

The next day, we woke up and had breakfast at a local coffee shop. Thankfully, they served pokemon food so our pokemon ate well. I also discovered that Togepi had almost fully healed. That was the bonus of baby pokemon: they healed quickly. "We should take our time and train a little bit today. Togepi has almost healed and I have yet to battle with him. Plus, you need more training before you go against Byron. He is no easy opponent," I said.

"Okay. I need to battle with Ralts as well, so that works out perfe-" Kyle stopped abruptly. We heard screaming outside. "What's going on?" Kyle asked.

"Hold Togepi," I said as I returned all my pokemon besides Persian, the red beam of light shooting from each pokeball and absorbing them. I ran out of the cafe, Persian at my side. In the streets, people were running from something.

My mouth dropped when I saw what the people were running from: a Machamp was rampaging through the streets, smashing lamp posts and crushing the corners of brick buildings with its four green arms, all rippling with muscle. "Alright Persian, use Shadow Ball!" Persian hit Machamp with a powerful Shadow Ball. It turned toward me, its face scrunched up with rage. We were only six yards away. "Now, use water pulse!" I commanded. Persian launched the blue sphere that exploded on impact. It still didn't do enough damage.

"Maaaaaachaaaaaaamp!" The pokemon cried as it charged towards me and Persian. An idea had hatched in my mind. I ran toward an abandoned building that was under quarantine and tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Persian, Iron Tail!" I shouted, pointing at the door. The Machamp wasn't far behind us. It was far too fast for a regular Machamp. I had faced plenty of them before and they were always fairly slow. Before I could thinking on it, the Machamp reared up behind us. Persian bashed the door to pieces just in time. Persian and I frantically climbed through the broken rafters and rotten posts that were the only things holding the place together, gathering cuts, bruises and scratches all the way. There were old pieces of furniture and posters making it even harder to get through, but Machamp was smashing them all as if they were nothing. The back door had a hole big enough for Persian and I to get through, but not our pursuer. We jumped through into the alley, but not before I heard the back of my shirt ripping. It was all that Machamp was able to catch. The rusty iron door wouldn't hold him for long. I needed to think of something quickly.

I was looking around the alley when I heard a crash. Part of the building had collapsed on top of the Machamp, I looked in the opening of the door. Machamp was buried in rubble, knocked out, but still breathing. One of its green arms stuck out of the mound of debris, still clutching a piece of fabric from my shirt. I let out a deep breath of relief as the authorities finally came.

Kyle ran towards me as I sat on the back of an ambulance, recounting the story to some police officers while the medics applied on my cuts and removed splinters. "Are you okay? What happened?" Kyle made me tell the story again, and after I was done for the second time, I watched as police officers carried the Machamp into the back of a van, when I noticed a small metal object inserted into its leg. It was far too shiny to be a piece of rubble from the building, and it was perfectly round. I pulled out my phone to take a picture but by that time it was too late. The pokemon was already in the van. For some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about how fast it was.

After getting treating by all the medics from the ambulance I went back to the pokemon center where I could shower and change into some clothes that weren't torn. I went back into the room where Kyle(who was now waiting in the lobby) and I had been staying. Once in the shower, the hot water stung my skin due to all the cuts and scratches. After the painful shower I got dressed into some spare clothes I had brought with me. I had put on green cargo shorts and a black shirt with green lettering. I went out to the lobby where Persian greeting me by placing its front paws on my shoulders and licking my face. Persian had had its minor flesh wounds treated by Nurse Joy. The clock read 3:00. I took Togepi from Kyle and left him to train while I went to coffee.

"Sorry about our training," I said as I grabbed my electric blue backpack. "When I said that, I had no idea what would happen."

"That's okay," said Kyle, who was thankfully not as disappointed as I thought he would be. "We can battle some other time."

Going to the Meteor Cafe proved to be a much longer walk than I previously thought so it was a good thing I left early. All along the sidewalks, vendors were trying to sell to random passerby. People walked at different speeds next to the tall buildings and complexes whose sides were littered with windows. After a while of walking, the Meteor Cafe came into sign read the name of the shop, underlined by a speeding comet. A sign spinner stood outside in a space suit, bobbing up and down like a desk toy. I soon found that Matt had secured a table with two seats. I was soon sitting in the unoccupied one, ordering a glass of water. Persian sat at my feet. The chairs were awkwardly shaped for they had managed to carve the backs into rockets, but they were comfortable.

"Hi there!" Matt exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm glad you could make it. What happened to your face?" He was referring to my injuries from the earlier event..

"It's been a long day." I recounted the story to him. When i told him about the metal piece his face just stood still, as if he had heard this information before.

"Well, that certainly is unfortunate," he told me as my water arrived. " I am very sorry to hear that tale, but we should be thankful you are still alive!" He was very cheerful with that last sentence as he took a long sip from his coffee. I still hadn't touched my water. I was still debating whether to drink it or not for I had noticed an odd green powder at the bottom. I had a feeling that it was meant to go along with the space theme of the Cafe, but then again, I didn't want to chance it. There were Clefairy everywhere: on the walls, on the ceiling, even the table had a Clefairy painted on it. "Now if you don't mind, let's get down to business shall we?"

"Sure. So first off, what is this organization you were talking about?"

"Ah, yes. We are a biological research and experiments corporation that is currently called BioCorp. We are currently trying to catch more pokemon for experimentation. However, we keep finding ourselves in need of certain rare pokemon and so i was assigned the task of trying to find a trainer to catch them. You have appeared on our radar. Are you sure you wouldn't like a drink of that water? You haven't touched it this whole time."

"I'm not thirsty right now," I said as a feeling of concern came over me. _Why is he worried about me drinking my water? It hasn't been that long. _The space themed clock on the wall to my left read, "3:45." _It's only been five minutes since my drink arrived._ "What exactly are you trying to achieve through this experimentation?" I asked, now starting to think that coming here wasn't a good idea.

"Well, we are trying to make pokemon stronger, and more optimized for work, and possibly war. Just think of what could be acquired. Machamp that can move twice as fast, Chansey tha-"

"Hold it right there, what did you say about Machamp and war!?" I interrupted anger rising as I thought back to earlier today.

"I said they could be twice as fast. Is there a problem? You don't strike me as a person who would be opposed to war." He said as he noticed I was becoming restless.

"No, not at all. Tell me, do these modifications have anything to do with implants?" I was quickly growing angrily sarcastic.

"Well, for now that is what we use but that doesn't mean we won't change our methods. Are you by any chance referring to the specimen today? Because I assure you we had the situation under complete contr- Whoops."

"Are you telling me that that fiasco was one of your experiments? Because it did not look like it was 'under control'."

Matt started shifting nervously. "That was one time and no one was hurt," he managed to say calmly. "Now please, hear me out. We need you to help us with our research. Think of the possibilities of what could happen if we were to secure a legendary pokemon. Please, I promise you will be paid well. Just think, once we are the leading force in the Sinnoh region, we will basically be ruling it. You could receive a very high position from our CEO. What do you say?" He held out his hand and smiled hopefully.

"No," I replied as I got up from the from the table. I held Togepi close as I started to walk away.

"Now," I heard Matt say behind me. All of the sudden, men and women in lime green suits walked out of the kitchen and circled me. Some were holding their pokeballs as if they were about to throw them, while others already had their pokemon out. They had a BioCorp. logo on their chests, which consisted of "BioCorp." In bright yellow letters outlined with black. "I'm sorry, I don't particularly prefer to accept no for an answer." People soon exited the cafe, leaving me alone with the odd group. Matt's facial expression had changed from very friendly to repulsively cruel. "Now, why don't you take a drink of that water?" I saw a gloom next to one of the men in green. He was holding what looked like a salt shaker filled with the same green powder that was at the bottom of my drink. _Sleep powder..._

"I don't think so," I replied with a dark tone in my voice. "What you're doing is wrong. I don't want any part in taking over the Sinnoh region or harming pokemon because I'm sure that implant wasn't painless for Machamp.

Matt let out a snicker. "Ha! And this is all coming from the son of Giovanni? We haven't hurt half as many pokemon as you have by confining them to a team rocket trainer. You might have saved that Togepi, but tell me, how many Starly and Ekans are now in the possession of a rocket?"

_How did he know about that? _That was the last straw. I tried to walk out of the cafe but was soon blocked by a gigantic BioCorp. grunt. I turned around again. "I assume you want a battle?"

"Quite frankly, I think that's the only route for your escape. Unless, of course, you want to reconsider joining."

"Never."

"Go, Venusaur," cried Matt as he threw a pokeball into the air, summoning the huge beast. The giant flower on its back was bright pink, while its skin remained a conservative greenish blue. In the middle of the flower, there was a small metal implant that appeared to be perfectly spherical with the BioCorp. logo on top.

"Venusaaaaaaaur!" It roared, echoing inside the shop.

"Let's go, Ninetales," I shouted as I pulled an ultra ball from my belt and tossed it into the air. It opened up to reveal a beautiful silver creature with nine tails, all ending with a dab of blue. It's eyes glowed like the hottest of red flames as it looked around the room, hypnotizing all who looked into the pair of blue gems.

"Your pokemon may be very pretty, Jonathan, but I assure you, this match will not work like a contest. Some of the BioCorp. grunts snickered at the remark. "Now, Venusaur, use vine whip!" The giant released vines from its flower and navigated them toward Ninetales.

"Flamethrower, Ninetales." Ninetales shot out a massive amount of blue flame from its mouth, containing streaks of white spun into it. The vines were incinerated as the flame continued past them and hit Venusaur, causing massive amounts of damage.

"Venusaur, use sludge bomb!" Lumps of sludge were launched in rapid succession toward Ninetales.

"Ninetales, dodge and use dark pulse!" Nine showed its agility as it dodged the poison type attack effortlessly and firing threads of dark energy that seemed to weave in and out of each other. Once Venusaur was hit was hit, the last of its energy was drained and it fell on its stomach, legs no longer able to support it. "Anyone else?"

The members of the organization stood still, giving no answer. Matt, however, did respond. "You can go. This time." He had an evil look on his face as he said those last words. He knew that what he had said hit a weak spot in my armor.

As soon as I got back to the room, I threw myself on the bed, thoroughly depressed. My phone then beeped. I pulled it out to find a text message from my dad. It read, "I need you to help with another pokemon capture tonight right outside Jubilife." Attached to this file was a map, pinpointing the location of where the event would take place.

Wiping the slight tear of guilt from my eye, I defiantly responded, "No." I was sick of my hypocritical lifestyle. Matt may have been evil, but he was right. I was done. I saved a few pokemon, sure, but I had ruined the lives of so many more. My phone soon rang. My dad was calling. "Yes?"

My fathers stern voice boomed from the other end, "What do you mean 'No'?!"

"Exactly what you think it means: no."

"When you get home you will be severely punished you ungrateful, little-"

"I'm not coming home."

"Well then!" He sounded extremely frustrated. Even though this situation was very serious, I couldn't help but wear a slight grin as I told him my blank responses. I was now playing mind games with him. "You must know that if you are no longer apart of Team Rocket, you are our enemy!"

"Sir, I am truly _honored._" I heard him scream on the other end before he hung up, which made it all the more satisfying, something to complement the joy that had come over me. I was free. No more having to go home. No more mind games. No more harming pokemon.

Feeling relieved, and determined, I made my way outside where Kyle was training. He was having Ralts and Cyndaquil fire attacks at each other. Their attacks were getting more and more powerful and skilled. "Good job," I said as I clapped for him. He was surprised by my sudden return.

"How did the meeting go?"

"It was interesting, but not for me. How has training been. I think it looks like it's paid off." I said, feeling slightly uncomfortable at remembering the story. _He doesn't need to know, right? _


	4. Chapter 4: Fulfilling A Resolution

That night I climbed out of bed, making sure that Kyle was asleep in the bed across, and that Togepi was still asleep on it's pillow. The door creaked as I opened the it, allowing a small beam of light from the hallway to shine into the room while Persian and I squeezed through the opening. I had gone to bed fully dressed to ensure that I would be ready for the capture outside Jubilife.

The automatic doors of the pokemon center opened to reveal the surprisingly noisy city. At midnight it was illuminated by street lights and post lamps. Cars flowed through the busy streets while drunks shouted at each other, brandishing bottles of alcohol. Many late-night liquor stores were just now closing for the night, but not without the cashiers asking the drunkards if they wanted just a little more. The seemingly child-friendly city had changed completely.

The air was chilly despite the extreme temperatures of the previous day. This was Sinnoh after all. Wild Glameow could be seen on the rooftops, crying at the full, bright moon.

Shards of broken glass shattered beneath my feet as I made my way outside of the city, following the map that had been attached to my fathers last text message. I soon came to a stop once the noise from the city had grown faint.

Before me, there was a large field of green grass that backed up at an incline to a forest. At the bottom of the slight hill, men and women in all black stood around a giant cage, puffing out their chests to show a bright, red 'R' for 'Rocket'.

Inside the cage, a variety of pokemon struggled to get free, trying to break the thick, iron bars which separated them from their natural habitat. The people in black were busy tying steel chains to the cage, while more grunts tied the other ends to the choppers. I walked up to one of them. "The operation has been called off," I said, seeing if I could stop this the easy way.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe you work here anymore," said Marley with a smile as he walked up to me. Crap! Dad did get the word out.

"Fine then," I replied, pulling out a pokeball. "I'll call it off myself." The red and white sphere contrasted with the dark night sky as it sailed upwards. Once it opened, a flash of light revealed a white and yellow pokemon that stood on all fours, with fur that resembled lightning bolts. and big black eyes that seemed that seemed to disappear with the darkness. "Jolteon," cried the pokemon as it sparked with electricity.

Before Marley could reach for his pokeball I commanded, "Jolteon, Thunderbolt!" The Team Rocket officer was hit with bright, yellow electricity that illuminated the area, knocking Marley out cold. More Rockets gathered around me, stalling for time by obstructing my path, so that their team members could finish connecting the chains and escape with the giant cage of pokemon.

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!" Shouted one of the grunts. The small, furry pokemon lunged for Jolteon.

"Jolteon, counter with Pin Missile!" I shouted. Jolteon's fur glowed white as bits of it shot into the Raticate, causing it to faint. Jolteon, Persian, and I ran for the cage, pushing through Rocket grunts. "Persian, cut the chains with Shadow Claw! Jolteon, cover Persian!" I yelled. Persian jumped from chain to chain, slicing them with its claws that were outlined in a black aura, while Jolteon zapped oncoming grunts and their pokemon. Meanwhile, I had found a large wrench that I was now using to hit the lock on the cage repeatedly. Just a few more times... I thought.

A loud, snapping filled my ears after one last swing. The lock broke and the door swung open while the rocket grunts retreated in their helicopters. Wild pokemon were poured out of the cage, fleeing back to the forest. Soon it was an empty field once more, with the exception of KOed rocket grunts and a giant empty cage. I returned Jolteon and thanked him for a job well done. A wide grin spread across my face on the way back to Jubilife.


	5. Chapter 5:The Road to Canalave

"Jonathan, wake up!" Shouted Kyle. I felt my bed shake. Kyle had kicked it.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"It's twelve! Did you have trouble sleeping or something?!" He sounded really frustrated. "We were supposed to get to Canalave today!"

"Trust me, I slept fine, and we can still get to Canalave. We will just get there late. Besides, we got to Jubilife late at night and you had no qualms about that."

"Fine, but we need to leave in an hour!" Yelled Kyle as he slammed the door. _Geez, and I'm the one who had trouble sleeping?_ I thought.I got ready and pulled on my backpack as I walked out of the room, Persian and Togepi by my side. Persian was letting Togepi ride on her back.

The lobby of the pokemon center was now crowded with the morning bustle. Kyle was waiting right outside the window. After picking up a quick snack, I went out to meet him. "Good morning, or should I say good afternoon?" I said while laughing hysterically. Kyle did not think it was funny.

"Which way do we go?" He asked blankly.

"That way." I pointed to a direction past the Poketch building. We both already had Poketches, so it wasn't like we needed to stop there. We passed the busy streets, which were now even more crowded than before since it was Saturday. Instead of people being dressed in suits and other professional wear, most people were dressed casually.

The area grew less urban and more rural as we kept walking, finally we reached the gate to route 218. "Hello there!" The gate manager greeted. "You boys stay safe now."

"Thanks. We will," Kyle and I said in unison.

"Oh! Hold up a minute!" Said the man as he stepped out from behind the counter. "There is a strange biker on the way. Real big guy. Won't let anyone pass unless they can beat him in a pokemon battle."

"Thanks, we'll keep that in mind." I replied. We continued out on to the path where an old wooden dock stood on the water between us and the rest of the path to Canalave. "It's not that far. Can you swim?" I asked, turning to Kyle.

"Not really," he responded. "My parents didn't think it was important enough." I couldn't think of what to do. Kingdra was a strong swimmer, but not with someone on it's back, and Dewgong didn't like anyone riding on him besides me.

"Need a lift, sonnies?" An old fisherman called out from his rowboat that was nearing the dock.

"That would be great!" I called back. Once he reached the dock, I helped him tie it to one of the dock posts. "How much do you want for a ride?"

"Oh no. No need to pay me. I just got one favor to ask."

"What's that?" Kyle asked.

"Yer both trainers right?"

"Yes," Kyle and I responded in unison.

"Well, you see, there's a man over there who hangs around like he owns the place," he said, pointing to the other side. "He's been demandin' some of my fish everyday, and I ain't got no pokemon anymore to refuse. If you promise to set that guy straight, I'll be more than happy to give you a lift. What do you say? Promise?"

"Promise," I replied as we climbed into the boat. While we rode to the other side, I released Dewgong and Kingdra so they could have a swim. Kyle, who had been keeping Cyndaquil out of its pokeball, simply watched them swim while we both listened to fishing stories from the old man.

"I swear, that Magikarp must have been 36 inches. Oh, would you lookie there?" We're here." We tied the boat to the new dock, which was built the exact same way as the other one. "Remember what I said,boys: set him straight." We thanked the old man for the ride. I returned Kingdra and Dewgong. We continued along the path that had trees on either side, until we came to an area that was wider than what we had been traveling. Under an old oak tree, a young biker sat in the shade with his motorcycle. Once he saw us, he stood up and started to approach, therefore dwarfing us both. He had brown eyes that seemed too small for his bald head, while his mouth and nose seemed too big. He wore a white, heavily stained tank top underneath a black leather vest.

"The only way you're getting past is if you can beat me. But come on, like that will ever happen," he said with a snicker. It was clear he thought of himself as quite humorous.

"Fine then, let's test that. How about a double battle? Two on two?" I asked, pulling out a pokeball.

"Sounds good. The name's Carl by the way," he said as he reached into his leather jacket to reveal two pokeballs.

"Do you mean that we are having a double battle?" asked Kyle.

"Yes," I replied.

"Are you sure I'm ready?"

"You'll be fine. Now, hurry up and choose your pokemon!" I was eager to battle.

"Ralts, let's go!" He shouted. Ralts was soon on the field, showing off its bright red horn.

"Alright," I said as I threw the pokeball. "Sawsbuck, you're up!" A very graceful but strong, deer-like pokemon appeared on the field, scraping it's back hooves as if ready to charge. It's antlers had healthy green bushes growing on them.

"Go, Grimer! Go Stunky!" Carl shouted. Grimer was an average-sized pokemon that was made entirely out of purple sludge. It body seemed to ripple like a liquid when it moved. Stunky was a small, purple and beige skunk-like pokemon whose tail fur stuck out like blades. Both pokemon cried to show that they were ready for battle.

"Kyle, you take Grimer and I'll take Stunky for now. Sawsbuck, use Jump Kick!" I shouted. Sawsbuck leaped into the air and landed its front hooves on Stunky. Stunky struggled to get up, but was able to manage.

"Ralts, use Confusion on Grimer!" Yelled Kyle. A light blue outline of energy covered Grimer and lifted it into the air.

"Grimer!" The pokemon cried out in pain as it was dropped onto the ground.

"Grimer, Stunky, use Poison Gas!" The biker commanded.

"Sawsbuck use Safeguard!" A green energy surrounded both Ralts and Sawsbuck, keeping them safe from being poisoned. "Now use Take Down on Grimer!" Sawsbuck rammed into Grimer, providing for a quick KO.

"Stunky, use Scratch on Ralts!" Carl commanded. Stunky dashed toward Ralts, claws glowing in a white aura.

"Ralts, counter with Pound!" Shouted Kyle with a look of worry on his face. Ralts' Pound met with Stunky's Scratch. The two pokemon stood face to face, trying to overpower one another with blows.

"Sawsbuck, use energy ball on Stunky, now!" A green ball of energy formed in Sawsbuck's mouth and flew toward Stunky, knocking it out of the field. Stunky was out cold.

"So then, you gonna let us pass?" I asked Carl as he returned Stunky.

"Fine!" He snarled angrily. "I wanted to find another route anyway!" He got on his motorcycle and rode away, leaving a cloud of smoke. Kyle and I coughed while we returned our pokemon.

"Wow…" Said Kyle as we continued walking. "We won."

"Yeah, we did," I replied. "Did you have any doubts?"

"Well, I was wondering whether we would be able to. I mean, whether I'd be able to. You've already faced the gym leaders and now, you're just preparing for the league. That was my second battle ever since my journey started. I'm so new at this that every battle I have feels like a toss of the coin, if you know what I mean."

"It's just something that you have to get used to. The first couple of times, you're extremely nervous, but then, you get used to it. After that, it's okay."

"Well, that's definitely reassuring. I did some research on Byron, and he is no easy challenger. I don't know if Canalave was a good place to start."

"You'll be fine. We can do some training on Iron island before your gym battle so that way, you'll be a little more prepared."

"That sounds great. Can we get there tomorrow?"

"We should be able to catch a ferry in the morning."

"Shellos!" A weak Water Pulse hit Kyle and exploded like a water balloon, causing me to laugh. We turned around to see a small, pink pokemon that had smooth skin and slight protrusions along it's back. It's black eyes seemed to be full of mischief as it gave a slight grin, pleased that it had hit it's mark. I pulled out my pokedex to see what the entry was.

"It lives along bodies of water. It body shape has changed to suit its habitat," said the pokedex in a clear, robotic voice.

"Go, Cyndaquil!" Kyle pointed at the Shellos while Cyndaquil jumped from his shoulder and landed on the ground. "Use Scratch!" The Shellos fired another Water Pulse at Cyndaquil to try and counter, but Cyndaquil, being far too agile, simply dodged to the left and hit Shellos multiple times with Scratch. Once Cyndaquil had backed off, Shellos used Hidden Power. Green orbs of energy formed around its glowing body and flew toward Cyndaquil. "Cyndaquil, dodge!"

"Cyndaquil!" Cried the pokemon as it was hit by the numerous energy spheres.

"Shellos!" The pokemon cried victoriously.

"Cyndaquil, use Swift!" Golden stars flowed out of Cyndaquil's mouth and hit Shellos, leaving it in a daze. Kyle threw a pokeball at the imbalanced pokemon. It shook once… twice… three times… locked.

"You know this only means getting hit with more Water Pulses, right?" I said as the sun began to set.

"Shut up! You're just jealous that I have a new pokemon," Kyle joked back.

"Look, there's the gate!" I shouted. We continued walking until we entered the city, where we stopped due to pure awe. The entire city had a bluish hue to it that seemed to correspond with the ocean that bordered the city. Sailors unloaded cargo from gigantic ships, while booths next to the canal sold various goods.

Once we had arrived at the pokemon center, Nurse Joy took our pokemon to be healed and gave us the key to a room in the far back hallway. As soon as our pokemon were returned we went straight to the room, which was more spacious compared to the last one we had stayed in. The walls were painted a deep ocean blue, and the beds were covered by crisp, white sheets. We got ready for bed and dozed off, excited to explore Iron Island tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6:A New Friend

The next morning, I awoke before Kyle did. I quietly got ready and left the room, with Persian and Togepi. It was probably around six, because the sun was just now rising over the ocean. Watching the sunrise from the big, glass window in the pokemon center was very relaxing. The sailors from last night were now loading boxes onto the large, metal ships, whose hulls reflected the rising sun. I grabbed a coffee and a cereal package and just sat in the lobby, thinking. What's going to happen with BioCorp.? What are they going to do next? And what about Team Rocket? What are they doing?

"Good morning!" Greeted Kyle as he walked out of the hallway and into the lobby, Cyndaquil riding on his shoulder. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Just thinking," I replied. He doesn't need to know. "The ferry leaves at eight, so you should grab some breakfast. I'll go get tickets." I walked out of the pokemon center and headed for the docks, having an argument with myself. He doesn't need to know! Yes, he does. What if BioCorp. goes after you and they end up getting him too?

"Can I help you?" Asked a young woman wearing a blue vest. She had blonde hair and brown eyes that looked very tired. I then realized that I had been standing in front of the ticket booth for a whole minute.

"Yes," I replied, trying to be as casual as possible. She clearly thought I was insane. "I would like two tickets for Iron Island please."

"Here you go. That will be 200 pokebucks." After I handed her the cash, I went back to the pokemon center where Kyle had found a blue sofa to sit on while he ate his cereal.

"I got the tickets. We need to leave in five minutes," I told him. He quickly ate the rest of his cereal and grabbed his backpack. We then headed out of the center. Once we arrived at the right dock, a sleek, white boat was waiting for us. It was average sized with the end coming to a perfect point. We were escorted on by an elderly gentleman in a sailor's uniform. Once everyone was seated, the boat took off at an alarmingly fast speed.

About thirty minutes later, the boat stopped. We were then escorted off the boat to Iron island, where land felt extremely reassuring. "Let's go this way," I said, climbing a steep incline which led to a sort of plateau. Breathless, we stood up to see the amazing sight before us. Onix were wrestling each other while Graveler rolled from place to place. To our right, there was a large cliff that was lined with caves, inside of which one could see Zubat and it's evolutions. We walked along the rocky ground until we came to a place that was a good distance away from the sparring Onix. "Alright Kyle, It's time we had that practice battle. Togepi, lets go." Togepi jumped from Persian and landed in between Kyle and I, now fully healed.

"Shellos, you're up!" Kyle threw the pokeball in the air and it released the small water type. "Shellos, use Water Pulse!"

"Togepi, use Metronome!" Togepi's fingertip glowed white while the water sphere headed for her. A green shield of energy formed around Togepi, preventing her from harm. Protect.

"Now, Togepi, use pound!" Togepi's small fist glowed white as it hit Shellos' face. "Use Yawn, quick!" Togepi opened it's mouth and released a large, pink bubble that popped right front of Shellos.

"Shellos, we need to end this now! Use Hidden Power!" The green spheres of energy formed in front of the drowsy Shellos and flew towards Togepi.

"Metronome, again!" It was too late. Togepi had already been hit with the Hidden Power attack, but still stood to try and fight.

"Shellos, use- What?" Shellos had fallen asleep on the battle field. "Okay, we can continue this later," Kyle sighed as he returned his sleeping pokemon. "Thanks for battling with me."

"No problem," I said as I reached down to pick up Togepi.

"Oh, it's adorable!" Shouted a shrill voice from behind. I turned to see a girl about my age running towards us. Her long, black hair flowed behind her as she ran. She had soft features and big, dark eyes. The messenger bag she was carrying was bright pink and green, which seemed to be the only colors she wore. "May I hold your Togepi?" She asked.

"Um… sure…" I said I placed Togepi in her arms.

"Oh, you're so cute!" She squealed annoyingly as she tickled Togepi. "I'm Liza by the way." She turned to us, extending her hand.

"I'm Kyle." Kyle reached out and shook her hand.

"I'm Jonathan," I told her as I stuck out my hand.

"Well, it's great to meet you! I'm a coordinator. As soon as I saw your Togepi I just had to run over. I came here to practice and explore the island before the contest tomorrow. Would you two like to join me?" She asked as she shook both of our hands. "I don't really want to explore alone."

I was about to refuse when Kyle said, "Of course. Jonathan here is a coordinator too." Kyle slightly nudged my elbow. I was about to give him a dirty look when-

"Oh, that's great! How many ribbons do you have?"

"Four."

"That's one more than I have. Are you competing in the Canalave contest tomorrow?"

"No, I'm going to wait for the Wallace Cup."

"Neat! Here, we can walk while we talk." She started walking in a westward direction, leaving me and Kyle to follow. She was still holding Togepi. "I hear the Wallace Cup is going to be in Kanto this year. We might see each other!"

"Yeah, that would be great…" I sighed. We finally came to a cave with a mouth the size of two Wailmers.

"Let's explore this one!" Suggested Liza enthusiastically as she fumbled through her bag for a flashlight. The bright light from the flashlight illuminated the seemingly empty cave. After a while of walking, I couldn't see the entrance anymore.

"Guys, we should probably turn back," I said.

"Don't be such a baby," Liza responded as she kept shining her flashlight on the cave walls. That insult made me angry, angry enough to keep going, sadly… I started to hear voices from ahead. "People!" Liza yelled. "We should go say 'hi'."

"No we shouldn't," I whispered as I pulled both her and Kyle behind a rock.

"What that for?" She whispered back, and then saw the people coming down the cave. Two men in bright green suits with the iridescent BioCorp. logo on their chests were walking down the cave floor.

"Who's there?!" One asked. They both kept asking until they gave up and walked back.

"Who were those people?" Kyle and Liza both asked in unison. I sighed. I knew I would have to tell them.

"Remember who I had coffee with in Jubilife?"

"Yeah, what about him?" Kyle asked, while Liza remained puzzled.

"Turns out, he was apart of BioCorp., an organization that wants me to capture rare pokemon for them for genetic enhancement. They were responsible for the Machamp that was attacking the city. I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to have a normal journey."

"Really?" Kyle asked with a blank expression on his face. "I don't want a normal journey."

"What?" I replied.

"My parents kept me home an extra six years so they could lecture me about having a 'normal journey' every night. Trust me, I don't want a normal journey."

"I want to help too!" Said Liza. "I don't like the idea of doing nothing about this."

"That's… great…" I responded. "Okay so we need to see what they're doing in there. We are going to have to quietly continue through the cave." I glared at Liza when I said "quietly". We then proceeded to tiptoe further into the cave, where voices just grew louder and louder. Light was flooding out of an entryway up ahead. Our mouths dropped when we saw what was inside.

It was a gigantic cave-room that was lit by two floodlights hanging from the cave ceiling. Along the floor was an immensely long table surrounded by men and women in labcoats. On the left chest area of the labcoats, the BioCorp. logo had been stitched on. On the table, a silver, gleaming pokemon laid there, sedated and held down by large metal bands. All, along its body, BioCorp. implants had been attached. The Steelix shuddered slightly in its sleep.

"What are you doing here?!" Asked one of the men in green suits from before.

"Kyle, rescue Steelix. We'll handle this. Persian, front and center!" I shouted while Liza pulled out a pokeball.

"Go, Empoleon!" Liza called. The large creature emerged from its pokeball and shook the ground when it landed. Its blue, metallic wings shone with brilliance. The trident on its face made it all the more intimidating as it brandished it's razor sharp wings. The two Biocorp grunts both sent out Glooms, average sized pokemon with four pods on their heads.

"Persian, use Shadow Claw on the left one!" I exclaimed. Persian's claws glowed with a dark aura as she slashed the Gloom, making a one hit KO.

Empoleon, use Drill Peck!" Liza commanded. Empoleon's body spun quickly as it flew through the air and hit Gloom, providing for another one hit KO. Both grunts returned their pokemon and charged for me and Liza.

"Persian, use Shockwave!" I yelled. A bolt of blue electricity shot from Persian's gem and hit the two grunts, leaving them unconscious. "C'mon, we need to help Kyle!" I motioned for Liza to follow as we ran to the table where Kyle was having all his pokemon attack one of the metal bands, while trying to avoid being stabbed by a scientist with a broken beaker.

"Empoleon, use Hydro Pump!" Liza shouted. Empoleon, hearing its trainers command, fired a high-pressure stream of water at the scientist, causing him to slam into a wall. "Now use Steel Wing!" She commanded. Liza's Empoleon sliced through the restraint. One down, Two to go.

"Liza, take care of the other two bands! Kyle and I will cover you!" I said. Liza and Empoleon ran for the other two bands, while Kyle and I kept using attacks on the scientists. Once each band had been severed, we looked, around at the fainted scientists, and the sleeping pokemon.

"What should we do now?" Asked Liza, returning her water/steel type pokemon. I picked up a clipboard.

"It says here that they gave it enough medication to keep it sedated for a few more hours. We probably should call the police and wait until they come," I said, pulling out my phone. "I don't have signal. I'll have to go outside the cave. We should have one person stay here in case they wake up."

"I'll stay!" Volunteered Kyle. I glared at him as I gave him Jolteon's pokeball just in case the BioCorp. workers woke up. When I turned my head to look at him while Liza and I started walking back to the entrance, he winked. I flipped him off behind my back before we were out of sight. Liza kept talking the entire time, still holding Togepi. Once outside, I gave a call to the police station. A chopper arrived shortly, carrying officer Jenny and a few other cops. Liza and I led them back to the giant room where everyone except Kyle and his pokemon was still sleeping. After an hour of questioning, the police officers allowed us to go. Luckily, I had never been caught on camera, so my Rocket identity was as good as gone, to the police anyway...

When we were walking back to the ferry, Kyle interrupted Liza, "Are you traveling with anyone?" I knew exactly what he was going to ask, and I highly disagreed with him.

"No, it's been quite lonely actually," replied Liza. Maybe that's why she talks so much.

"Well, why don't you travel with us?" Kyle invited. Please say no. Please say no.

"That sounds great!" Are you sure you would be willing to stay in town an extra day for my contest?"

"Of course we would. I don't have my gym battle until the day after tomorrow." "Awesome! What do you think of the idea Jonathan?" I couldn't believe he put me on the spot like that.

"It sounds… wonderful…"

"Great, we can explore the town tomorrow after the contest!" Liza said cheerfully. "This is going to be so fun!"

"Yeah! We'll meet you at the ferry. I need to talk to Kyle for a moment. Alone." Liza skipped away while I turned to Kyle. "What are you thinking?!" I shouted. "We just met her today!"

"Yeah, but she did help us. And the more the merrier, right?" He said jokingly. He knew he had gotten to me.

"Fine! But mark my words. If you try anymore hints, you won't be coming home from this journey." We walked back to the ferry (Kyle still wearing a large grin on his face), where Liza was waiting onboard. Once we got back to the city, we went to our rooms(Liza had been staying at the pokemon center too), and went to sleep.


End file.
